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Immediate effects on depression of cognitive therapy interventions

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Abstract

The immediate effects on depression of exploring versus modifying depressive thoughts were compared in chronic moderately to severely depressed patients receiving cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Using a withinsubject design, it was found that periods of “cognitive” CBT consistently produced more change in belief in identified depressive thoughts than did similar periods devoted to exploring and obtaining more information relevant to the thoughts. The greater change in belief resulting from “cognitive” CBT was consistently accompanied by greater reduction in self-rated depressed mood than was obtained in the Thought Exploration condition. Differences in the effects of the two conditions on a measure of speech rate were not consistent. The results support a central prediction of the cognitive model of depression and suggest the specific therapeutic effectiveness of “cognitive” CBT techniques.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oxford, UK

    John D. Teasdale & Melanie J. V. Fennell

Authors
  1. John D. Teasdale
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  2. Melanie J. V. Fennell
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Additional information

This research was supported by the Medical Research Council of the United Kingdom. We are grateful to Peter Amies and Gillian Butler, who rated the recordings of the treatment interventions.

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Teasdale, J.D., Fennell, M.J.V. Immediate effects on depression of cognitive therapy interventions. Cogn Ther Res 6, 343–351 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01173582

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